Black and White
by dtill359
Summary: Sabera Shifual, is a determined woman. When she sees an opportunity to get what she wants, she takes it, but sometimes there are unintended consequences. "The Sands of Time Are Sinking" AU. Installment 2.5.


**Black and White**

Dim light shifted through the hazy room. The sweet, bitter smell of burning incense rose from a small stone statue in one corner. A magnificent bed sat in the center of the dark room. Its curtains were open, allowing the scent of the incense to float in and settle on the disturbed sheets.

"My love…" a young woman's voice floated through the musky air, "I cannot bear to leave you again…"

"And I do not wish you to go," the low voice of the Cometine Prince uttered in reply. "But Jarena cannot know you were here."

"If she is not smart enough to know by now that there is another woman in your bed, then perhaps you do not need to keep her," the woman purred as she draped her long legs over his and traced a seductive finger along the Prince's bare chest, admiring the deep olive green shade of his skin. Her own skin was very close in color, but a good bit lighter than her lover's.

The two sat comfortably on a spacious couch, sprawled along one wall of the room.

The Prince chuckled quietly, "Perhaps, Sabera, but for now I must at least hold to the pretense of keeping her. What would my father say?"

"Zordar…" Sabera sighed, running her fingers through his thick white hair, then pulling herself up to kiss him. "Your father is all the way back on the throne-world." She smiled seductively, "And youth is not a gift given twice."

The Prince pulled the young woman onto his lap, and with a hungry look in his eyes, returned her kiss.

Sabera gently pushed him away a few seconds later and chided, "That is the last of the incense, and…" she breathed the next words into his ear, "this is a nice couch. I would hate to see it ruined."

The Prince smirked at the young woman and with a sigh replied, "I suppose you're right. After all, it will be well past midday, and General Dyre wishes to discuss our battle plans for the coming conquest of Midnar and her sister worlds."

" _Gatlantis_ is an amazing feat of engineering," Sabera said as she brushed her long, straight, white hair back over her shoulder. "The array of weapons she carries would make any army fall in fear before her might."

"She is the smallest of the worldships." Zordar eased Sabera back onto the couch beside him and stood, but not without running a hand over his lover's near arm. "My father almost wouldn't let me take her. I had thought to take _Sheritna_ , the newest of them, but _Gatlantis_ 's might – she has more firepower than three worldships combined."

"I am sure the other worldships are a sight to behold." Sabera replied, getting up and stepping in front of the Prince. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. The beating of his heart rang through her and she closed her eyes, letting the sensation flood through her.

"I forget sometimes that we began this journey just before you were born." Zordar carefully ran his fingers through Sabera's hair, admiring its soft smoothness. "Has it truly been sixteen years since we left…?"

"Almost seventeen," Sabera replied, opening her eyes to look up into the Prince's face.

"I remember that day. My younger brother and sister, nearly twenty by then, saw us off, along with my father. We promised to bring as many worlds into the Empire as possible."

Sabera ran her hands over the Prince's muscled back. "Why so tense, my love?" she asked.

Even as she asked the question, she felt him relax.

"I do not want to keep Jarena as my mistress any longer, Sabera," the Prince gently pulled the young woman away from him so that he could look into her face. "I keep her for one reason and one reason alone…"

"And what is that?" Sabera asked, intensely curious to know this answer.

The Prince sighed, "It is… Invidia."

"Invidia?" Sabera asked. "What about her?"

"She is my daughter – my heir when the time comes. Though I may no longer desire Jarena, Invidia still needs her, and if I were to send her away now, my daughter would never forgive me. War in my house is not something I wish to have. I value my life, and to incite wrath in my child would only end in my own blood being shed." Zordar let his arms fall back to his sides and moved to don the black, armored uniform he usually wore when in the presence of his generals, or other officers.

Sabera leaned against the bedpost and watched him dress, growing a bit more disappointed with each article he put on.

Finally, he tugged on his second boot and fastened his cloak to his left shoulder. "I must go." He reached out and pulled Sabera to him one more time. "I will see you tonight after the convocation," he breathed, his voice thick with implied intent.

Sabera gave him a sly smile, "Maybe sooner than that."

The Prince leaned down to kiss her one more time, then slowly left his bedchamber, tossing glances back at Sabera as she picked up her discarded uniform and slid back into it.

* * *

"Invidia, I can't let you ruin your perfect complexion by going out with that little friend of yours. Your skin is the perfect shade of cream," Jarena insisted as she pulled a brush through her daughter's unruly black hair.

"But mother, it's just going to be a few hours – and it's not even real sunlight. We're just going to be in the simulation room," a seven year old Invidia protested. "Ow! That hurts!" She squealed as her mother tugged on a particularly stubborn knot.

"Well, I wouldn't have to pull so hard to untangle your hair if you would start behaving more like a princess and less like one of those ruffians you like to play with!" her mother growled. "Those scamps have taught you so many bad manners that I can't even keep track of them anymore." Jarena gave the brush one final tug and pulled the ratted hair out of its knot. "There. At least you look better than you did."

Invidia hung her head, "I'm sorry, mother…" she muttered, "I just don't have anybody to play with…"

Jarena sighed, "Why can't you spend more time with that girl Selena?"

Invidia looked over her shoulder at her mother, "She's so… snobby. It's like everything's about her."

Jarena shook her head, "What am I going to do with you? Selena is just a girl who knows what she wants and acts like it. It would do you good to be more like her."

Invidia looked back into the mirror she sat in front of and pulled part of her wavy hair over her shoulder. She started fiddling with it, braiding the loose ends together.

"Stop it!" Jarena smacked her daughter's hands away from her freshly brushed hair and pulled her daughter's hair back behind her, quickly untangling the braided strands. "This is what I'm talking about, Invidia. Quit fidgeting. You're a princess. You can't just start wiggling around in your chair whenever you don't like what someone says or when you don't want to talk about something."

Invidia bit her lip and blinked hard, letting her head droop just enough to hide her eyes. Her mother didn't like it when she cried.

Jarena grabbed a section of her daughter's hair and slowly worked it between two hot flat-irons. "Your hair looks like one of the beggar girls' down in the sublevels."

"But I don't like it straight," Invidia murmured, still looking down.

"Well, your father does, and I don't intend to have you disappoint him one more time," Jarena fussed, "You've already got too much against you. Your hair is such a boring color, your face is much too long, and you look like a half-filled balloon." Jarena let the clump of hair that she was working on go and grabbed another section.

Invidia dared to look up into the mirror. Her face was a little on the long side, and her hair _was_ plain black, but her father had never said anything to her about either of those things. As for being a little over-weight, she knew that was true. Every time she looked at herself in the mirror she felt a little bit hollow inside. She wished she were skinny like her friend Sabera. The older girl always looked so nice in whatever she wore that it often made Invidia feel inferior to be around her.

"Ouch!" Invidia yelped in pain as the searing edge of one of the irons nicked her scalp.

"Stop fidgeting!" Jarena screamed into her daughter's ear. "It wouldn't have touched you if you hadn't been moving around."

"But I wasn't moving," Invidia mumbled so quietly that Jarena didn't even hear her.

Jarena finished straightening Invidia's hair and put the irons away.

"There, now you look much better," she said, and motioned for Invidia to stand up. "That new dress looks better on you too. Red suits you so much better than blue ever did, dear."

Invidia looked down at her new clothes. She didn't really like red that much, but she had to admit that she really did look good in it. She turned a full circle. The dress fit a little more tightly on her than she liked, but she could move in it well enough.

"Here," Jarena went over to the closet and took out a black headpiece. On the front of it was a red diamond that matched her dress perfectly. Jarena went over to her daughter and set the headpiece in place. "That will do nicely."

Invidia had never worn a headpiece before. She reached up to touch it, but saw her mother's look of disapproval reflected in the mirror, so she let her hand drop back to her side. "It's pretty," she said with the hint of a smile, admiring how the color of the headpiece blended in perfectly with her hair. It almost looked like she wasn't wearing anything on her head except the red diamond that sat perfectly centered in the middle of her forehead.

"Now you look more like a princess," Jarena said, sounding self-satisfied. Then she added, "Well… you look decent enough."

Invidia turned to her mother and started to hug her. Jarena pushed the girl away, "You'll wrinkle your dress doing that."

"Oh…" Invidia said weakly, stepping away from her mother, "Okay…"

"You can leave, just don't ruin your clothes before the convocation tonight," Jarena chided. "Now go spend some time with Selena, or one of the other noblemen's' daughters."

"Alright mother," Invidia replied, trying to hide her snubbed feelings as she started to run out of the room, then felt the heavy gaze of her mother and slowed down to a more proper gait. "See you tonight."

* * *

Sabera felt the simulated breeze blow as she strolled down one of the garden paths. She'd been sitting in on strategy sessions with a number of Zordar's more capable generals. They always eyed her when she came to observe. A sixteen year old girl was not often appreciated for her military cunning on board _Gatlantis_ , though she couldn't really blame them. She _had_ caught the eye of the Prince of _Gatlantis_ himself, so why shouldn't his officers take notice of her too?

Stray leaves crunched under her bright white boots as she walked. Simulated sunlight filtered down through the trees that overhung the path she was on. The sound of gurgling water floated to her on the breeze and when she rounded a bend in the path she saw an elegant stone fountain laid out in the middle of a flower-filled clearing.

She walked towards the sight, pulling off her white gloves as she approached it. Just before she reached the fountain, however, she heard something else off towards the edge of the clearing.

The unmistakable sound of someone crying became clearer as Sabera started towards whoever it was.

"Invidia…?" Sabera asked as she recognized the girl, "What are you doing here?" She knelt down beside the young princess, who was sitting on the ground, behind a stone bench, her face in her hands.

The little girl kept crying and when Sabera reached out to touch her shoulder, Invidia jerked away from her.

"No! I wanna be alone!" The girl sobbed.

"Okay. I can leave you alone," Sabera started to get up, but just when she'd made it to her feet and was about to take a step back towards the fountain she felt a hand on her lower leg.

"No… don't go away…" Invidia sniffed, "I'm sorry, Sabera…"

"It's okay," Sabera replied softly, settling back down on her knees beside the princess. "What's wrong?"

Invidia pulled her hands away from her tear-stained face and started to wipe her nose on her sleeve, but stopped and pulled out a handkerchief instead. She sniffled as she tried to stop crying. Once she'd mostly succeeded Invidia explained in a halting voice, "Mother – doesn't – think – I'm pretty – enough."

"Of course she does," Sabera offered, "She's your mother."

"No, she – doesn't," Invidia choked again. "She – said – so."

Sabera saw the genuine hurt in the child's eyes, and though she felt more curious than compassionate, the older girl patted the princess on the back, "There, there. I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"But she says things like that a lot," Invidia hung her head and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief again, pulling in a sharp breath as she did. "It makes me feel sad when she says things like that. I try to be a good princess, but – I can't do everything she wants me to do. It's too hard, Sabera!" The little girl wailed and started crying again. "I wanna be like you. You never do anything you're not supposed to, and you always look so pretty."

The sixteen-year-old hid a smirk at the girl's words, "I assure you I am far from perfect, Invidia."

"But, you're closer to it than me," Invidia insisted, looking over at the older girl, "Can you help me be a better princess?"

Sabera laughed a little and snapped off a tiny wildflower with her bare hand. She held the bloom up to the light and looked at it, studying its curious intricacy. Then with an oddly chilling smile she crumpled it up in her hand and let it fall. The ruined petals scattered on the ground near her feet. "Don't worry, Invidia. I'll help you."

"Oh, thank you, Sabera!" Invidia exclaimed as she threw her arms around the young woman's neck and hugged her tightly. "You won't be disappointed in me. I'll learn everything really fast."

"I'm sure you will," Sabera replied, "I think you'll be the best student I've ever had."

* * *

The doors to the great hall closed with a dull thud. The gigantic room was filled to the brim with people from all over _Gatlantis,_ and the convocation was being broadcasted to every dwelling and operations center on the world-ship.

Tonight was the official appointment of the Prince's Prime Minister. It was a particularly grand affair. Everyone present was dressed in the best clothes they owned. This appointment was not made often. Each Prime Minister served until their death. The previous Prime Minister had died several months ago and Prince Zordar had taken his time in choosing a new one. But, now the choice had been made and it was time to reveal it. No one except the Prince and the master of ceremonies, a high priest in the imperial church, knew who that choice was.

Invidia stood with her mother in the front row of the congregation, watching intently as her father stood and began the ceremony.

"People of _Gatlantis_ ," Zordar began, "tonight we honor one among us who has proven themselves worthy of this most coveted of offices. The office of Prime Minister is not to be taken lightly. Their duties as my advisor and second-in-command are vital to the mission of _Gatlantis._ If we are to bring more worlds under the power of the empire, we must ensure that we have only the best, and most cunning employed in that effort. It is the Prime Minister's responsibility to oversee our efforts of conquest and to seek out and conquer the most profitable worlds for our empire."

The crowd cheered in agreement at this.

"Today we will bestow the colors of office to the one I have chosen for this most important of appointments," with that, Zordar stepped back and let the priest take the floor.

The old man wore long, black robes, and his shaved head bore the tattoo of a clawed hand. His eyes were a stunning gold and they seemed to look everywhere at once.

He held up the red collar and ceremonial knife that the Minister would wear upon their appointment.

The Prince's generals and advisors all stared at the tokens with desiring eyes. The position of Prime Minister was the most powerful and respected position available, next to the Prince himself. To have this position was every officer and nobleman's dream.

"Please come forward and receive the blessing of the Divine War-bringer," the old priest looked around the room, starting at the gathered generals and ending at the guards standing at the back of the room, "Choice of the great Prince Zordar himself, Sabera Shifual."

A look of horror spread through the group of generals and several of their faces paled at the announcement. One old officer began to weep and had to be escorted to an adjoining antechamber so that he didn't disturb the ceremony.

Sabera, who was standing very near the back of the great hall, stepped towards the front of the room. As soon as the people nearest her realized who she was, they all quickly made a path for her.

The young woman, clad all in white, walked through the crowd, head high. Her steps were filled with grace and grandeur as men and women alike stared at her in wonder. Sabera felt all of their glances, and especially Jarena's glare.

Sabera smirked as she walked past the other woman on her way to the stairs leading up to the dais. She also passed Invidia, and noted, to her satisfaction that the girl was staring at her in awe. She gave Invidia a quick smile as she passed and took pleasure in the dirty look she received from Jarena as a result.

The whole room was quiet as Sabera went up the side stairs to meet the priest and Prince. She bowed before the two men, her back to the crowd as she knelt before them.

"Sabera, stand and prepare yourself for the blessing," the old priest directed.

Sabera did as she was told and stood. Turning to face the crowd, she slowly settled to the floor on both knees, holding herself up so that the shorter priest would be able to fulfill the ritual.

She took a deep breath and pulled her hair away from her left ear, bracing herself for what she knew was coming.

"By the might of the War-bringer and by his power to bring _Gatlantis_ to her final glory, I grant you the blessing of the Prime Minister," the priest said as he approached Sabera.

She heard the sound of steel being unsheathed and the shuffling of the old man's feet. An instant later she felt the sting of the ceremonial knife as it sliced into her ear, taking the top of it off at an angle, leaving her now-pointed ear dripping with blood. The priest pressed a clean cloth to the wound until it stopped bleeding.

Sabera pulled her hair away from her other ear. The priest wiped the blade clean and shaped her other ear in same fashion. When he was done, the crowd let out an overwhelming cheer.

Even though she'd known Zordar would choose her, she felt a sense of pride welling up in her, pride that she'd accomplished this. She looked down at the gathered generals and with a self-satisfied smirk let them know they'd been sorely outmaneuvered.

She heard the priest go and fetch the red collar from Zordar and come to stand behind her.

"By the power of the War-bringer, I also grant you this symbol of his power and wisdom," the priest lowered the collar down in front of Sabera and fastened it around her neck. Then he carefully pulled her hair out of the adornment and adjusted it to fit her. "Stand and receive the blade that has marked you."

Sabera slowly rose. The priest came to stand beside her and held out the now-sheathed knife. Sabera reached out and took the blade. She turned to the crowd and held the knife up high for all to see her symbol of victory.

The people cheered again for their new Minister.

Sabera waited for a few minutes for the noise to die down, and then she lowered the blade and addressed the people of _Gatlantis_.

"Citizens of our great Empire," her voice boomed through the room with the aid of the amplification system built into the dais, "Today I have been given this great honor, and I will do everything in my power to see to it that our people continue to be the mightiest in all the universe. I will aid our Prince in his efforts to bring new worlds into the fold of the Comet Empire, and I will see to it that _Gatlantis_ will always be remembered as the most brilliant jewel in the crown of the Empire."

She held up the knife again for all the people to see as they thundered their approval of her words. With pride she lowered the weapon once more and attached it to her waist, then with a low bow, she stepped back to stand beside the Prince so that the priest could conclude the ceremony.

* * *

Simulated bird song floated through the garden air as Sabera and Invidia strolled along an empty path. The trees rustled with fabricated wind as they walked beneath them.

"You were really great yesterday," Invidia looked up at Sabera with admiring eyes, "I wish I could be as important as you some day." The little girl stopped to pick a flower on the side of the path.

Sabera laughed, "The only reason I have that position is because I know what I want and I do everything I can to achieve that goal. If someone gets in the way… well, I make sure they won't be a problem." The young woman stopped a few feet ahead of the girl and waited for her to catch up.

Invidia held the bright red flower to her nose and inhaled a deep dose of its sweet scent, "These flowers smell so nice. Which one do you like the best?"

Sabera looked around, searching for pale yellow petals and a long, thin stem. She spotted what she was looking for a bit farther down the path. The young woman started towards the flower, motioning for Invidia to follow her.

When she reached the flower she pointed down at it. "This one. Smell it, but don't try to pick it," she instructed.

Invidia leaned down to sniff the yellow flower, "It's nice," she smiled approvingly, "But why can't I pick it? It would look really pretty with my red flower."

Sabera reached down and started to bend the stem. In a flash, thorny vines whipped out to catch her hand. If she hadn't been fast enough, she would have been hopelessly caught in the plant's trap.

"The flower is a deception, Invidia. The true nature of this creature is to lure in its prey and capture it in its thorns. Then it slowly eats whatever it has caught," Sabera said, standing upright again. "This flower is the truest reflection of how you and I must conduct our affairs."

"I don't understand," Invidia backed a few steps away from the vicious plant and looked up at Sabera confused. "I don't want to eat anybody."

"No," Sabera smirked, "Perhaps not, but you do want to protect yourself, don't you?" She started down the path again.

"Of course. I don't want anybody to hurt me," Invidia replied, then realized her friend was leaving her and ran a few steps to catch up. "But I'm just a little girl," she looked up at Sabera, "how can I protect myself if the people hurting me are bigger or older than me?"

Sabera took Invidia's hand and led her off the main garden path through a thick stand of trees. They stopped in the middle of a clump of brush. Sabera looked up into the surrounding trees, then found what she was looking for and pointed to one particularly short tree. "Look," she said. "Do you see anything different about this one?"

Invidia let go of Sabera's hand and picked her way through the bushes until she could see the where the trunk of the tree was rooted to the ground. The little girl looked up and down the tree several times before she turned back to Sabera and shrugged, "It's smaller than the rest?"

Sabera stepped through the foliage and came to stand next to the girl. "Look here," Sabera pointed to something growing just beside the tree. It stretched from its sprouting-point towards the tree and wrapped around it.

Invidia traced the green line, and she saw that it stretched all the way up the tree.

"I don't understand," the little girl said, reaching out to touch the bark.

"Right now this tree is growing in the same soil as this vine," Sabera said. "Look over here," she beckoned Invidia to come towards the back of the tree, "See?"

"There's more vines," Invidia said, bending down to examine the new sprouts growing all around this side of the little tree.

"Yes," Sabera said, "There are, and they will soon overpower this tree. In a few months this sapling will only serve as a place for the vines to take hold of – something they can use to climb closer to the light above."

"They're going to kill the tree?" Invidia asked, a look of realization dawning on her face. "The tree is bigger than the vines, but they're going to win anyway."

"Yes, Invidia," Sabera replied, and then started wading back through the bushes. "These little vines do not seem powerful or dangerous, but if you remain in their grasp too long, you will never escape it."

Invidia turned away from the little green sprouts and stood back up, following her friend back through the brush. "But how is that like what I need to do?"

Sabera secretly smiled to herself as she took the girl's hand and led her back onto the path. She looked down the trail in both directions, then knelt in front of Invidia and said to her, "Sometimes, the best way to protect yourself is to use others weaknesses against them. Is there anyone right now who hurts you, or does things you don't like?"

Invidia quickly pulled her hand away from Sabera's and looked down at the ground. If she'd had pockets her hand would have been in them, but in lieu of that, she folded her hands together and started rubbing her thumbs against one another. She kicked a pebble, sending it skittering down the path.

"What's wrong?" Sabera asked, sweetening her tone. "Are you afraid of something?"

Invidia nodded slowly, still not looking at Sabera.

"You're a princess; you don't have to be afraid of anyone," Sabera patted the girl on the arm. "Now, what is it?"

"It –" Invidia began, then broke down into tears, "It's Mother," she sobbed, "She says mean things to me all the time, and yesterday she even burned me while she was fixing my hair. It really hurt, but she didn't care!"

The little girl flung her arms around Sabera's neck.

"You didn't say anything about all that yesterday," Sabera gently chided and she hugged Invidia, "Why didn't you tell me your mother abuses you?"

"I – was – afraid," Invidia choked, "It makes me sad when she says those things. I feel like – she doesn't – love me – anymore."

"Doesn't it make you angry that she hurt you?" Sabera asked as the girl pulled away from her. "Don't you want to get back at her for doing that and saying those awful things?"

"I guess I do," Invidia started to wipe the tears away from her eyes with the back of her hand, but Sabera offered her a handkerchief, which the girl readily accepted. "I want her to know how much she hurts me."

"That's talking like a princess," Sabera nodded in approval. "You have to make her understand that you won't let her hurt you anymore."

"But how do I do that?" Invidia asked, a new boldness appearing in her young face.

Sabera stifled a triumphant grin as she said, "Why don't you tell your father what's going on? I'm sure he'll be able to take care of her."

Invidia tapped her chin as she thought about this, then happiness bloomed in her eyes, "Alright, I'll tell him everything. Mother can't tell Father what to do. He can make her stop."

"Very good," Sabera stood up and patted her student on the back, "You've chosen well, Invidia." Sabera turned her face away from the child, not able to hold in her triumphant grin anymore, "You'll be a fine princess one day."

* * *

Invidia patted her pony's neck affectionately. Even though he was only a hologram she was glad he was always around when she wanted to ride him. "Good boy, Felix."

The bay shook his head, sending his mane flying everywhere as he snorted appreciatively.

"Can we go just a little farther?" Invidia turned her mount around to face her father who was just coming up behind her. His horse's silver coat glistened in the early morning light.

"If you wish to," he replied, "Sabera is seeing to it that the generals are occupied, so I don't have anywhere to be for another few hours." His horse stamped a hoof, eager to get moving again.

Invidia's eyes brightened and she pointed off into the distance, "Can we go up the mountain?"

The Prince nodded, "We can go wherever you would like."

Invidia smiled and clicked her tongue, turning her pony around to head towards her favorite trail. The tall, wild grass swished back and forth around Felix's legs as she and her father rode through a meadow.

Invidia looked up at the Prince as he rode beside her. She opened her mouth to tell him about her mother and all the terrible things that had been happening, but her nerves got the better of her. Instead she looked around the meadow, noticing again how beautiful the place was.

"This is my favorite program," Invidia finally said, "It's always so nice here." She patted Felix's neck again and urged him into a trot to keep up with her father's horse's longer gait.

"It reminds me of the throne-world when it was in its prime," the Prince replied, his voice much quieter than usual.

Invidia didn't reply. She'd often wondered about the throne-world. Having never been there herself, she didn't know anything about it except the few things she'd read in her school books and the things the older officers had told her about it, which were scarce few, since they didn't really talk to her much.

She took a deep breath and tried to speak again, hoping this time that what she wanted to say would come out, but nothing did. She felt a heavy weight start to pile up in her stomach as she rode along beside her father.

The Prince's horse walked a little faster as it approached the beginning of the trail, eager to go someplace new. Invidia slowed her pony to a walk as they approached the foot of the mountain.

The Prince stopped and let his daughter catch up. "Why don't you go first, since you've been here before," he offered.

Invidia nodded, smiling weakly as her stomach flopped around. "Okay," she said and carefully maneuvered her pony around her father, taking the lead.

The trail wasn't very wide. There was barely enough room for two horses to walk side by side, but it was spacious enough for the princess's pony to traverse, and even the Prince's mount didn't seem to be afraid of the narrow trail.

Invidia guided Felix past a large rock jutting up out of the ground and called back to her father, "Don't trip on that."

The Prince's horse stepped over it easily, bobbing his head up and down, wanting to move faster than a walk. "Not yet," the Prince patted his horse's neck, soothing the beast enough to keep him from trying to dash around Felix and take the lead.

"We're almost to the first lookout," Invidia called back to her father, "It's a really good view from there." She steered her pony up a rocky patch of trail and out into a clearing.

The small area ran into a forest on one side and a cliff on the other. The trail bent back on itself and continued to wind up the mountain.

Invidia pulled Felix to a stop several feet into the clearing. She looked back, waiting for her father to catch up. His horse had a harder time with the rocky patch than her pony, but her father finally made it up to the clearing.

"Look," Invidia pointed down at the land spread out before them, "You can see everything from up here." She dismounted and led Felix over to a tree where she tied his reins around a branch. The Prince followed suit and secured his horse to another tree, then the two slowly walked over to the cliff.

Invidia stopped near the drop off and folded her arms over her chest as she looked out at the many places she'd visited inside this holographic world. She saw the meadow they'd just rode through, and a river winding along through a patch of trees. Off in the distance she could see the waterfall she loved so much as it thundered down into the river below. Everything was perfect here, so perfect it made her chest hurt sometimes just to look around.

Her father stood next to her in silence, taking in the scenery with her.

A gentle breeze fluttered by, bringing with it the scent of a new morning.

Invidia looked down at the cliff in front of her, wondering what it might feel like if she were to slip. Would the program safeties catch her? Would she get hurt if she hit the ground?

She kicked a rock off the edge and watched as it tumbled down into the field below.

The longer she stood there, the more she felt the pressure inside her boiling up. She wanted so badly to say what she'd brought her father here to tell him, but even now she couldn't. She looked back out at the distant waterfall. The water cascaded down endlessly. If something got in its path, the water found a way around it.

Invidia bit her lip and wrapped her arms around herself tightly. "Mother hurts me!" she blurted out, tears spilling down her cheeks as relief flooded over her after saying those few simple words. "And she tells me I'm ugly and fat all the time."

The Prince turned to look at her, startled by his daughter's words, "She does what?"

Invidia pulled her hair away from the fresh burn on her scalp, "See," she turned her head so he could look at it, then started parting her hair in different places, showing him where it had happened before. Then she rolled up one long sleeve to reveal several bruises on her upper arm, greening with age.

The prince said nothing for a moment, then, to Invidia's surprise, he bent down on one knee, reached out, and pulled her into a hug. He was so much bigger than her that Invidia felt like she'd been swallowed by Sabera's giant, silver rhok-rhok bird, Simin.

"Father…" Invidia started to say, but her voice trailed off when he pulled away from her and stood up. In that instant, Invidia understood why the officers feared him. In her father's face burned a wrath so dreadful that she didn't dare speak another word.

Her father left the outlook and untied his horse, mounting swiftly and starting back down the mountain. Invidia scurried to catch up with him, quickly freeing her pony and vaulting up into the saddle. Felix protested as she urged him into a trot on the treacherous stretch of trail ahead, but he obeyed.

Her father said nothing all the way back down the mountain.

* * *

The smell of incense was still heavy in the room as Jarena entered the Prince's bedchamber – what was once hers too. The lights were low and a red haze kept her from seeing too far into the shadows. She quietly stepped a bit farther into the fog. The feeling of eyes boring into her back made her turn around more than once, but each time she did, she saw no one.

Coming here used to mean that the Prince still desired her. Her heart rose with hope as she wondered if perhaps tonight would be the night that Zordar took her as his consort again. She'd done everything she could to please him. She'd changed her appearance, decking herself with the best clothes and jewelry _Gatlantis_ had to offer. Her hair was bright and smooth, and she'd been on a strict diet for over a year.

She had even tried to teach Invidia everything she knew about living among the people of _Gatlantis_ , grooming the girl into a half-way decent picture of a princess.

Jarena took a deep breath, inhaling the sweet scent of the incense, catching a brief whiff of a bitter smell that rolled just beneath the surface of the air's perfume. Her eyes widened as she recognized it.

"Sabera," she hissed into the gloom.

"Yes," Zordar's voice rumbled from the shadows at the far end of the room, "She is here."

Jarena jumped, startled, "Zordar, I –"

"You are not here to converse with me," the Prince melted into her vision as if by magic, "You are here to answer for what you have done."

Jarena's brow furrowed in confusion, "I do not understand," she replied, taking a step backward as the Prince approached her. He stopped several feet away. Even though the lighting was poor, Jarena could see the wrath in her former lover's face and it made her want to turn and flee.

She started to back towards the door, trying to move slowly enough that Zordar wouldn't notice it.

"Oh, no, you'll not be leaving," Sabera's lilting voice startled Jarena and she whirled around, coming face to face with the glinting blade of the Prime Minister's ceremonial knife.

"Wha – what's going on here, Zordar?" Jarena asked shakily, backing away from Sabera as the younger woman slipped out of the shadows. She heard the Prince's heavy footsteps coming up behind her and was about to look back when pain shot up her arm as it was wrenched around and pinned to her back. She shrieked in pain, doubling over as Zordar grabbed her other arm and twisted it back.

"Ah!" she cried, "Let me go! Please!" She felt like her arms would fall off if they were twisted any harder. The pain was so intense that she thought more than once that she would pass out. She blinked hard, trying to stave off the darkness that was creeping up on the edges of her vision.

"You have harmed my daughter for the last time, Jarena," Zordar growled into her ear, "And now you'll receive your reward for doing violence against an heir to the Empire."

"But I only – wanted – her to learn – how to act properly!" Jarena gasped as Zordar forced her to her knees.

"Your methods were not… satisfactory," Sabera said in a sing-song voice as she shook her head and wagged her finger at Jarena mockingly.

With all the strength she could muster Jarena spat on Sabera's pristine boots and hissed, "You're one to talk, Jezebel. Stealing a man and weaseling your way into power," Jarena grunted in pain, but continued, "You have no room to speak here."

"Ha!" Sabera propped one arm up on the other, her knife still drawn as she looked down on Jarena with condescending eyes, "I have done everything you can't." She looked past Jarena at Zordar, "I have taken what I wanted, no matter what – or who – was in my way." Jarena squatted down in front of Jarena and grabbed her chin, forcing the woman to look into her smug face, "I. Have. Won."

The sickening sound of steel plunging into live flesh echoed through the thick room, sending silence into every corner.

Jarena's eyes widened. She stared at Sabera for an instant before the life drained out of her face.

Sabera sneered at the body of her rival as Zordar let it drop to the floor. The ceremonial knife slid out of Jarena's dead heart as she fell. Sabera held the weapon up, watching the blood drip from it onto the floor. "Come, Invidia," she called into the darkness as she bent down and wiped the knife clean on Jarena's new dress before sheathing it.

Light footsteps sounded against the hard floor as the girl slowly approached her mother's body. She looked at her father, then at Sabera. The Prime Minister pointed to Jarena's corpse and said, "Never forget this. You have the ability to shape your future, and no one can get in your way if you know how to use the power you have."

Invidia stared at her mother's wide, dead eyes for a long time. Just when Sabera was beginning to wonder if the girl would ever move again, Invidia slowly stepped over to Jarena's body and peered into her lifeless face.

"You can't do anything else to me now, can you, Mother?" Invidia taunted the corpse, "You won't ever hurt me again, and if anyone else does, I'll make sure they stop, just like I stopped you," she jabbed her finger in Jaren's blank face. Then, without another word she stood up and turned away from the gruesome sight.

Sabera stepped over to the girl and laid a hand on her shoulder, "You've done very well, Invidia," then she leaned in closer and whispered in Invidia's ear, "You're looking more like a princess today than you ever have before."

Invidia's face brightened at this summation, "Thank you for helping me."

"You're welcome," Sabera replied, "I'd be glad to help you in any way I can whenever you need me."

Invidia nodded, "I know," then she gently picked up Sabera's hand and took it off of her shoulder, "I'll go now. I know you like Father a lot more than Mother did."

Sabera hid her surprise.

"Don't worry, I won't tell any of the generals," Invidia smirked at Sabera, "Unless you do something I don't like." For an instant, the Prime Minister saw herself in the girl's eyes, then the vision was gone. "Okay, I'll see you later."

Sabera nodded, a feeling of dread rising in her throat as she wondered what kind of monster she had just created.

* * *

 **Author's Note: WA Character Development Challenge**


End file.
